Embroidery Machine

Hi everyone,

On my to-do list, I still need to make some bibs for my future grandchild. I can already sew them. But while scrolling through the internet, I also found lots of beautiful designs that were embroidered with either motifs or a name. I really liked those. But without an embroidery machine, I can’t recreate them.

Unfortunately, I don’t have an embroidery machine—but that could still change. After all, people always have wishes and goals. That’s why I wanted to ask you:

1. What kind of embroidery machine do you have, and are you happy with it?
2. What do you embroider with it? Can you post pictures of your work here?
3. Was it worth the purchase for you, or is the machine just sitting around after being used only once? 

Thank you so much for your answers.

Best regards, Ina
 

Dear Ina,

I have a Brother inovis. It’s getting a bit old, and I actually bought it secondhand. By now, the machines have surely come a long way. 

With my machine, I’ve embroidered lettering for health record book covers, maternity record book covers, scarves, spelt pillows, and so on.

I’ve also purchased embroidery files for various little pouches, wallets, and even an Advent calendar. They turned out great.

The downside of my machine is that it’s a “diva” 😂 Even the tiniest specks of dust near the bobbin area make it refuse to work. When I didn’t know that at first, I thought it was broken. But a friendly blogger helped me out back then.

I hope you make a good choice.

Best regards 

Claudia

That’s all I can think of off the top of my head right now.

I have the Brother Innovis 3, and it’s actually the second embroidery machine I’ve owned. My first was the Brother 750E, but unfortunately it didn’t have the large embroidery hoop I would have liked, so that’s why I ended up getting this larger machine. I’ve been embroidering with an embroidery machine since around 2009 or 2010. I use the Embird software, which lets me create my own embroidery designs.

The elf was embroidered ITH on the machine—ITH stands for “in-the-hoop”—and is my own design.

I can also make little tags with initials on the embroidery machine——and this geisha takes 4 hours to finish embroidering; I made that one for a friend once. This is just a tiny selection of my work on the embroidery machine

Best regards, Inge

Dear Claudia,

now that I’ve seen your beautiful lettering, I actually envy you for your aging Diva. The fonts are a dream—and so are your creations made with them. Thank you so much for your detailed reply.

Given the prices of embroidery machines, it’s definitely a major purchase. But I love lettering and sewing—I find that combination so wonderfully personal. 

May I ask how big your embroidery hoop is? You’re kind of stuck with that size—it doesn’t get any bigger than that. And how much space does an embroidery machine take up? There’s absolutely no room for it in my attic room. I’d have to convince my husband to clear out his side of the attic. But that’s step 2. First, I’ll gather more information and see if I catch the bug.

Maybe someone could describe or show, in broad strokes, how the design process for lettering like this works—from the initial idea to the finished lettering on the fabric. I’d find that very interesting. 

Best regards, Ina

Dear Inge,

thank you so much for your post, too. Your creations are all wonderful as well. You simply can’t embroider something this delicate by hand. 

The ones with the large hoop—yes, that’s what I thought too. Since an embroidery machine with a small hoop is already expensive, you might end up regretting later that you should have just bought one with a large hoop right away. Otherwise, you’ll end up with two huge expenses. How big is the hoop on your embroidery machine with the large hoop?

And does the Embird embroidery software cost extra? 

You’re obviously a perfect seamstress, and since you’ve been embroidering since 2009, you’ve really got the hang of it. I don’t even know if I’ll ever get to the point where I design my own patterns. As a beginner at embroidery, if I just want to embroider some lettering, can I do that if all I have is an embroidery machine?

Best regards, Ina